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Guild Wars 2 developers offer new information on PvP, servers, titles, and more
The class and race information for Guild Wars 2 might be coming fast and furious, but general gameplay details have been scarce lately. That all changed today, thanks to an interview with Guild Wars 2 fansite Variance. The Variance team sat down to chat with Eric Flannum, John Corpening, Egan Hirvela, and Matt Witter for plenty of new tidbits on the game, including the new details that fans have been hoping for. Perhaps some of the most exciting information was regarding PvP play. Information on this side of the game has been very limited, but we learned several new things today. There will be four World vs. World maps at launch, each player will begin in his or her own home map, and there are numerous strategic objectives within PvP play. Hardcore fans will enjoy the in-depth analysis of the new PvP information, courtesy of Kill Ten Rats. The team wasn't finished there, though. Fans have also been very curious about other details such as server setup, titles carried over from Guild Wars 1, and vanity items like miniatures. The team had things to say about all of that, so head over to Variance to see the full interview for yourself!
ArenaNet delves into the lore of the Guild Wars 2 Hylek race
ArenaNet is moving back from gameplay details to lore information with its newest blog post, all about the story behind the Hylek race. These frog people are familiar to current Guild Wars players but not in much depth beyond "Why won't they stop hopping around and let me hit them?!" The Hylek are a returning race in Guild Wars 2, so Eric Flannum has taken some time to delve into their story -- who they are, how the various tribes differ, where they live, and much more. The lore overview is interspersed with various quotes from Hylek leaders and even an Asura researcher who mentions the death of a colleague (no relation) from a poisoned Hylek spear wound. The Hylek aren't a race to be taken lightly, but some of the tribes are friendlier than others, so take the time to get to know them. For the time being, check out Go Forth and Multiply on the ArenaNet blog!
Guild Wars 2 Norn week continues with new video and developer interview
In what might well be the highlight of Norn week, ArenaNet has released a wealth of information to Guild Wars 2 fans this morning. A new video, screenshots and art, and an interview with the developers combine to tell players all about what they can expect if they choose to play a Norn character. Where and how will you live? What are your surroundings like? Jeff Grubb, Ree Soesbee, Eric Flannum, and Bobby Stein gathered to deliver some insight on the Norn and gave us some exciting new details in the bargain. For example, the Norn trait of being in sympathy with nature isn't limited to the animal forms we're familiar with so far. For example, Eric Flannum explained that Norn players can use that affinity to call upon the wurm spirit and summon a temporary wurm pet to assist in battle. While we're not sure you'd want one sticking around and following you home, they make for handy companions to call on in a pinch. The new video, set to Jeremy Soule's instantly recognizable background score, offers sweeping views of some of the Norn home areas. The video, which is a combination of familiar and new footage, deserves at least two viewings to allow you to take it all in -- thanks both to the sheer size of it all and the intricate detail. From the shields mounted high above to the weapons on the fences below, there's more to see than can be parsed in one viewing. The screenshots are a combination of new and old too, but even the familiar ones have new bits of information here and there. The Norn female we saw way back when is now clearly identified as a Ranger in the image title, for example. Follow along after the jump for the video, a gallery of the new images, and the developer interview!
Guild Wars 2 designers discuss the last three Guild Wars 2 professions
Are the Mesmer and Assassin returning to Guild Wars 2 or not? Speculation on these two professions has been ongoing and enthusiastic among Guild Wars fans, and designers Eric Flannum and Jon Peters added a hefty dose of fuel to the fire in their interview with Eurogamer today. The two didn't offer a definitive answer on these two classes but hinted that the Mesmer profession might not be returning exactly as we know it. Jon Peters commented that "people who enjoy that playstyle will be happy," but didn't offer further clarification. Eric Flannum did confirm that we have one more light armor class and two more medium armor classes -- what those are remain to be seen, hopefully very soon. Check out the full interview at Eurogamer.
Behind the scenes with the Guild Wars 2 Guardian: Massively's interview with Jeff Grubb and Eric Flannum
The Guild Wars 2 fanbase is still buzzing about the Guild Wars 2 Guardian this week, and we here at Massively are just as interested -- if not more so -- as anyone else. There's been a lot of talk of skills, armor, and so on, but we were curious about something a little different: the backstory behind this new class, both in a lore context and a creation context. We got the opportunity to chat with some of the minds behind those very things: GW2 lead designer Eric Flannum and lore designer (and co-author of Ghosts of Ascalon) Jeff Grubb. Follow along after the jump as we hear all about the creation and vision of the Guild Wars 2 Guardian.
An ArenaNet retrospective: "We're not a video game company, we're a community building company"
"I don't think I've seen a studio more passionate about its work." Massively contributing editor Larry Everett made this comment regarding ArenaNet in our recent Staff Choice Awards, and his timing couldn't have been better. ArenaNet has begun 2011 in a big way with the ArenaNet retrospective. The 15-minute video is a trip back in time to the earliest days of ArenaNet and Guild Wars, but it doesn't stop there. Over 20 ArenaNet team members give their perspectives on where the company has been, where it's going, the company's take on Guild Wars 2, and what makes it great. If you loved the Manifesto video, you're likely going to find this one an even bigger treat. Follow along after the jump to see the ArenaNet retrospective video and Massively's take on it.
ArenaNet community manager debunks Guild Wars 2 rumor
Guild Wars 2 fans have been enjoying a series of articles at PC Gamer this week, but unfortunately the series came with a bit of misinformation. If you read through the articles, you may have noticed some news regarding dungeons as downloadable content in Guild Wars 2. The community was buzzing about that possibility until Community Manager Regina Buenaobra stepped in to clarify things: "We have not made a decision on whether to sell dungeon content as DLC, contrary to what the article states. The author of the article jumped to this (incorrect) conclusion based upon his interpretation of Eric's statements." Eric Flannum released a clarification that stated in part "...our core philosophy--of not requiring you to spend additional money to play the game and not making the game difficult or painful to play in order to encourage you to buy things from the store--still stands." Eric's full statement can be seen within Regina's forum post.
Guild Wars 2 designers answer player questions about armor, crafting, and Transmutation Stones
Last week's Guild Wars 2 news got a huge community reaction. The loudest discussions came from the announcement regarding Transmutation Stones and their relation to the upcoming game's item shop. John Hargrove and Eric Flannum answered some of the most prevalent fan questions last night in the newest ArenaNet blog post. Predictably, most of the questions centered around Transmutation Stones, but we also learn a bit more about crafting, gathering, and armor stats. While some questions remain unanswered for the time being, there are plenty of new details to pore over. Follow along after the jump as we take a look at them.
Quaggan sad: A look back at the Guild Wars 2 Dynamic Events panel
At the top of my to-do list for Saturday morning at PAX was Designing Dynamic Events, a Guild Wars 2 panel with designers Eric Flannum and Colin Johanson. Talk and video of the panel have been everywhere this week, and I wanted to take a little bit of time to give my thoughts on what they did and how it was received. The panel was billed as a discussion about "how Guild Wars 2 designers create events in the dynamic, living game world and the many factors to consider when designing any kind of MMO content." It sounded interesting, but it was a ticketed event with limited attendance, which seemed strange to me. I managed to get a ticket and was even more confused when I walked into the relatively tiny room. Why such a small place for something that would certainly have drawn a huge crowd? It all became clear very soon, so follow along after the cut to hear more about my take on the new things we learned in Designing Dynamic Events.
ArenaNet preparing for gamescom and PAX
As gamescom and PAX approach, a fair amount of attention is on ArenaNet -- specifically Guild Wars 2. The prospect of being able to play GW2 for the first time is an exciting one for fans. ArenaNet has released a few details of what we'll see during gameplay over the past week, including the information that we'll be playing with some staff back at the ArenaNet offices. In the most recent blog post, we hear directly from four of those staffers. Bob Green, Joe Belousek, Anthony Ordon, and Joe Longworth are members of the Guild Wars 2 QA team, the group working to make sure the demo runs smoothly. Check out the latest ArenaNet blog entry to see what they're most looking forward to in the demo. While the demo is easily the main focus of ArenaNet's presence at these events, there is more to check out while you're there. The event schedule for PAX Prime was finally released yesterday, and it includes a Saturday morning presentation entitled "Guild Wars 2: Designing Dynamic Events." Eric Flannum and Colin Johanson will give insight into how the dynamic event system in GW2 was created -- it's a talk that fans won't want to miss. It's a ticketed event, so be sure to check the schedule for details on how to attend.
Eric Flannum answers more questions about Guild Wars 2's ranger
The latest profession reveal for Guild Wars 2 was the ranger class, and ArenaNet has been generous with information since then. In the newest entry on the ArenaNet blog, Lead Designer Eric Flannum answers the most frequently asked questions from the community. He clarified quite a few things from the reveal video and discussed some mechanics that will carry over from Guild Wars, such as the ability to dodge. Some new information on the blind condition caught the attention of quite a few fans. Rather than the timed duration we're familiar with now, blindness in Guild Wars 2 "causes the target's next attack to miss." Interestingly, a question very near the top of the frequently-asked list was not answered: that of interrupts. There's heavy community speculation on why this is, and hopefully we'll have some news that clears it up very soon. For now, the latest round of new information can be found at the ArenaNet blog.
Guild Wars 2 devs answer questions about combat, gameplay, and traits
Last week's unveiling of the warrior class for Guild Wars 2 sparked a lot of excitement in the Guild Wars community. The introduction of the trait system came at the same time and was another hot topic of conversation. We at Massively were as thrilled as the rest of the community at the news, and just like everyone else, we had quite a few questions. Guild Wars 2 Lead Designer Eric Flannum answered our questions last week, but he's got even more to say. Eric and Designer Ben Miller spent some time going through quite a few of the more commonly asked questions, and added an informative new entry to the ArenaNet blog. Check it out for all the latest on warriors, traits, combat, general gameplay, and more.
Warriors, traits, and combat chatter: Massively's interview with the Guild Wars 2 Lead Designer
Yesterday's update to the Guild Wars 2 site brought news that made a lot of fans very happy: confirmation of the warrior class as well as the introduction of the traits system for Guild Wars 2. As always, once ArenaNet decides to give out information, they do it right. We got screenshots, wallpapers, video, and pages of detailed information on this new class and concept. We at Massively -- just like the rest of the Guild Wars 2 community -- were thrilled at the news and had plenty of questions about the new information. Lead Designer Eric Flannum generously spent some time answering those questions (and evading our sneaky attempts to wrangle a third class reveal.) He had some very interesting things to say, so follow along after the jump for our exclusive interview!
Massively's interview with the Guild Wars 2 design team
There has been so much new information about Guild Wars 2 lately that it can be a little hard to keep up. While things have mostly focused around dynamic events and personal story, the scope of those two concepts is so large that every new piece of news seemed to trigger another list of questions. We at Massively have been following the developments closely, so we are as curious as anyone else. We asked the Guild Wars 2 team about several various points -- everything from crafting to the creation timeline. Lead Designer Eric Flannum, Lore and Continuity Designer Ree Soesbee, and Game Designer John Hargrove were kind enough to satisfy our curiosity on some of these points. Follow along after the jump and see what they had to say.
Guild Wars 2 Lead Designer answers more questions about dynamic events
"Loot will never be directly given as a reward for an event. [...] All events reward you with experience, gold, and karma, which you can spend at merchants and vendors in the game to purchase rewards." There you have it: the answer to the question asked over and over since the Guild Wars 2 dynamic event system was announced a little over a week ago. Guild Wars players have always enjoyed loot distribution that's different from the need vs. greed or free loot systems that are standard in so many MMOs. Pre-assigned items and equally divided gold skirted the entire issue of arguing over who gets what. Players have been very concerned about the distribution of loot, gold, and XP in Guild Wars 2, but the only hint we received was from Lead Designer Eric Flannum: "[...] each event has its own criteria for determining participation that gauges who actually made a decent effort at participating. It's designed to give no credit or lower credit to players who were AFK during an event or just did a fly-by, using only a few skills and moved on. [...] The intention of the system is to encourage players to participate in fights. We don't define participation as either idling and doing nothing, or using one skill and simply tagging a monster." That was definitely reassuring, but as with most of the Guild Wars 2 news it raises even more questions. Colin Johanson addressed them briefly yesterday when he introduced the concept of karma as a way of acquiring the things you need, promising that Eric Flannum would explain further tomorrow. Tomorrow is here and Eric does tell us more about karma, but he's got much more to say. Follow along after the jump for the next round of questions about dynamic events!
Guild Wars 2 devs talk crafting, PvP
The folks over at GuildWars2Guru.com have scored an impressive interview with ArenaNet Lead Developer Eric Flannum and Game Designers Ryan Scott and Isaiah Cartwright. The trio drop a few interesting nuggets about the highly anticipated Guild Wars 2. The piece touches on everything from World Versus World (WvW) PvP, to the game's unique take on healing classes, to crafting and gathering. "We're still designing many of the specifics but players should expect crafting to enhance their adventuring experience and not be a system that tries to replace it. What I mean when I say that is that crafting will not be something players can engage in as a career without ever going out and slaying monsters and being a hero. We think that systems that allow players to do that can be a lot of fun but just aren't right for what we're doing in GW2," said Flannum. Check out the full text over at GuildWars2Guru.com. Also be sure to look at The Flameseeker Chronicles this Monday as Rubi breaks down all of the Guild Wars 2 details flooding the net in recent days.
Eric Flannum answers more Guild Wars 2 questions
Last week's information avalanche from ArenaNet answered a pile of questions about Guild Wars 2, then created what was possibly an even bigger pile of questions with a lot of speculation thrown in to boot. ArenaNet's been on the ball, keeping a close eye on the buzz and compiling a list of the most asked questions. Today, those questions were answered, thanks to Guild Wars 2 Lead Designer Eric Flannum. Possibly the most significant piece of news was the confirmation that the companion system is in fact dead. As development progressed and the focus on group play and casual grouping became clearer, the team decided that the system wasn't necessary. The companion system was only the beginning -- Flannum covered nine key points in this blog entry, ranging from the skill bar to non-combat activities. As with all of the latest Guild Wars 2 news, anyone with an interest in the game will find it well worth their time to read through this latest blog entry.
Flameseeker Chronicles: Will combat in Guild Wars 2 be an improvement?
Last week was pretty huge for the Guild Wars community. ArenaNet released a flurry of new information: the first profession was confirmed as the Elementalist, followed by the unveiling of details on combat and profession mechanics. Two items in particular raised quite a bit of discussion in the community: the lack of secondary professions in Guild Wars 2, and the design of the skill bar. As Guild Wars fans, we've grown accustomed to the extreme freedom that we currently have. Want to play E/Rt and run a full Rit bar? Great, no problem! It looks like we're not going to be able to do that in Guild Wars 2, for several reasons, and the immediate reaction was that of concern. However, it's a trade-off. Will we gain in the end? That remains to be seen, as we can only speculate with the limited knowledge we have at the moment, but follow along after the jump to see what the possibilities are.
Down you go: ArenaNet unveils the Guild Wars 2 Elementalist and combat details
The floodgates of Guild Wars 2 news continue to open, and ArenaNet has revealed the first confirmed class for Guild Wars 2: the Elementalist. Not only do we get confirmation of the Ele class, but we get an exciting amount of detail and another huge update on overall combat. Guild Wars Elementalists are formidable foes as it stands now, but it looks like the class will advance quite a bit in GW2. In 250 years, the Ele will have learned to change elements on the fly as well as summon items as weapons. That's only the beginning, though. The Guild Wars 2 site contains some stunning screenshots to go with all the information as well as videos, the first of which we have also embedded after the jump for your viewing pleasure. What about combat in general? Lead Designer Eric Flannum gave us an outline of combat that reveals some extremely exciting details about what's to come. Ten slot skill bar? Yes please. Increased importance placed upon tactical strategy and movement? Any Guild Wars fan worth his or her salt should read through this several times -- there is a significant amount of new information. Personally, as a huge fan of the Elementalist class, I found this to be the most exciting GW2 news in quite a while. There is certainly more to come from here on out, so keep your eyes on Massively for all the latest -- we'll be keeping a close eye out for it!
Massively's interview with ArenaNet: Let's talk Guild Wars 2
While the internet collectively recovers from the new Guild Wars 2 trailer, released during GamesCom earlier this month, we jumped at the chance to interview the creative geniuses behind the upcoming title. ArenaNet's Eric Flannum, Lead Designer, Ree Soesbee, World Designer/Writer and Will McDermott, Writer all answered our barrage of questions.Follow along after the jump to learn more about the GW2 business model, evil Sylvari, plans to have multiple servers and much more!
